11/25/2024
We’re not designed to multi-task. Sometimes we think we can try to do 2-3 things at the same time. But why shouldn’t we?
The article linked below from fs.blog on cognitive overall could be long enough to cause a little cognitive overload on its own! You don’t have to read it. Here’s what I got out of it:
• Our brain’s decision-making network doesn’t prioritize the importance of a decision and can be as “used up” by trivial Facebook messages as by important decisions.
• Our brains evolved to focus on one thing at a time. This enabled our ancestors to hunt animals, to create and fashion tools, to protect their clan from predators and invading neighbors.
• Attention is the most essential mental resource. Our attentional system has evolved to protect us from non-important details, letting us live on “autopilot” when it makes sense.
• Multitasking is the enemy of a focused attentional system. Increasingly, we demand that our attentional system try to focus on several things at once, something that it was not evolved to do.
• We are social creatures. We are easily swayed by first-person stories and vivid accounts of a single experience. Although this is statistically wrong and we should learn to overcome the bias, most of us don’t.
https://fs.blog/the-history-of-cognitive-overload/
Timeless lessons and insights that help you think better, learn faster, and make smart decisions.